1. Fees
If you take client payments through Stripe, Square, or PayPal, the processor deposits your money net of fees. A $1,000 invoice might land in your bank as $970.
Booking that $970 as income understates your revenue and hides what you’re paying to get paid. Instead, record the full $1,000 as income and the $30 as merchant fees. Your profit doesn’t change, but your top line is accurate and you can see what processing actually costs you each year.
2. Focus
Most entrepreneurs I know keep a running list of other business ideas. The new idea always looks more exciting than the one you’re grinding on, especially when growth feels slow.
Slow growth is not failure. If you have clients paying you and coming back, you have traction, and traction compounds when it gets your full attention. Splitting time across multiple ventures usually means none of them get far enough to find out what they could have been.
Before starting something new, ask yourself whether your current business has actually stalled or just isn’t moving as fast as you’d like. Those are two very different problems.
3. Follow-up
Not every conversation turns into business right away. Plenty of good work comes from people you met long before they ever needed you.
Staying in touch matters, but your time is limited, so be strategic about it. Keep a short list of people worth staying close to and check in every few months: a coffee, a congratulations on a recent win, or passing along something useful. The goal isn’t to stay in front of everyone. It’s to stay in front of the right people.
Until next week
